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Chapter 1
Why is food safety your concern?
Reducing the risk from food safety hazards is an essential part of any food production business – irrespective of its size. To help you achieve this, you need to know which food safety control measures are relevant to your products. If you are not sure what the terms ‘risk’, ‘hazard’ and ‘control measure’ mean, read Box 1.
Food safety is an issue that is taken very seriously by Australian government authorities. If you are manufacturing food products to sell, it is your responsibility to be aware of, and always follow, the food regulations relevant to the types of products you are producing. The overriding requirement is that food is ‘safe’ and ‘suitable’ or, in other words, it is fit for humans to eat. Information in this book will help you to ensure you achieve this outcome for your products.
What are the food safety hazards you should know about?
Below is a brief overview of the key food safety hazards: microbial, chemical and physical. More detailed information about each of these hazards is provided in Chapter 2.
Microbial hazards
Microbial foodborne illness, also commonly called ‘food poisoning’, is illness caused by eating food contaminated with specific types of microorganisms or toxins formed by these microorganisms. Microorganisms that are capable of causing illness are called ‘pathogenic microorganisms’ or simply ‘pathogens’. Microorganisms that may be pathogenic are bacteria, viruses, parasites and moulds. There are many microorganisms that are not pathogenic but they can cause food to spoil (e.g. mould growth on bread). Although these spoilage microorganisms are a concern for the food industry, they will not be discussed in any detail here because this book focuses on issues that may harm the health of consumers.
Box 1 – Risks and hazards explained
People often get the meanings of the words ‘risk’ and ‘hazard’ mixed up or confused. Let’s use an everyday example to explain these and another related term ‘control measure’.
Definition of risks, hazards and associated terms
Term | Definition | Example |
Hazard | Source of harm | Wet slippery floor (due to water leak) |
Risk | Likelihood of being exposed to hazard and the likelihood of being harmed if exposed | Low risk – wet floor is in the corner of an unused room
High risk – wet floor is in a poorly lit area that many people walk through |
Control measures | The actions that can be taken to reduce the risk of exposure or fully eliminate the hazard | Reduce risk – wet floor warning sign is placed in front of area
Eliminate hazard – leak is fixed and water is mopped up |
In Australia, the illness most commonly caused by eating food contaminated with pathogens or their toxins is foodborne gastroenteritis. The usual symptoms include nausea, diarrhoea and/or vomiting; these generally last for less than a week. Most people have either suffered from foodborne gastroenteritis at some stage of their lives or know someone who has.
There are some long-term illnesses that may develop after patients recover from symptoms of foodborne gastroenteritis. The effects of these can last for a much longer time than the initial gastroenteritis and may even cause lifetime disability. Irritable bowel syndrome – which causes abdominal pain, discomfort, bloating and alteration of bowel habits – is one example of this type of illness.
Some pathogens can cause illnesses other than foodborne gastroenteritis or gastroenteritis-associated illnesses. Examples of these are:
• flu-like symptoms
• damage to the nervous system
• damage to the liver
• damage to the kidneys
• meningitis – inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord
• septicaemia – infection of the bloodstream
• encephalitis – inflammation of the brain.
Box 2 – Vulnerable persons and food safety
The very young, the elderly and those whose immune system is seriously weakened have a higher chance of developing foodborne illness and may suffer more severe effects or complications. Weakening of the immune system can occur because of medication, such as chemotherapy treatments, or because of illness, such as AIDS. Pregnant women are also a vulnerable population as infection with pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriages or stillbirths.
Some people have a higher chance of contracting a foodborne illness than others, and they are also more likely to suffer more severely, develop more complications and, in some circumstance, die. These people are classed as ‘vulnerable persons’ (see Box 2 for further information).
Chemical hazards
In Australia, reports of illness caused by the presence of hazardous chemicals in food are much rarer than illnesses associated with pathogenic microorganisms. However, misuse of chemicals agriculturally or during food processing can cause illness. Harmful chemicals can also be present in food naturally or by environmental contamination. Additionally, substances found naturally in food can cause illness when eaten by people who are allergic or sensitive to them (Box 3).
Types and sources of chemicals in food that may cause illness if eaten include:
• proteins or other substances that may cause allergic reactions (e.g. peanuts)
• approved food additives, such as chemical preservatives, used incorrectly
• residues from cleaning and sanitising chemicals
• deliberate or accidental addition of chemicals not approved for use in food
• chemicals leaching from packaging into food
Box 3 – Food allergens
Food allergies are an exaggerated immune response by certain individuals to proteins or their derivatives that occur naturally in some foods. Foods most commonly reported to cause allergic reactions are peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, egg, cereals, fish, crustaceans and sesame.
In Australia, up to 8% of children and 2% of adults are allergic to one or more food (Food Industry Guide to Allergen Management and Labelling, see page 271 for details).
Allergic reactions to foods vary greatly: from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to skin rashes and potentially life-threatening breathing difficulties such as asthma and anaphylaxis. Even a tiny trace amount of an allergen can cause a severe reaction in sensitive people. The annual number of hospital admissions due to food-induced anaphylaxis has more than doubled over the past decade.
Many more people suffer from food intolerances rather than food allergies. Intolerances are reactions to natural or artificial substances found in some foods, such as lactose from cow’s milk. Although not generally life-threatening (as food allergies can be), food intolerances can cause serious health problems. Coeliac disease is caused by intolerance to gluten, which is a protein present in wheat, oats, barley and rye. If people with the disease eat gluten, the lining of their small intestine may be damaged and they might be unable to absorb nutrients from food properly.
• environmental pollutants from industrial waste, such as mercury or dioxins in fish
• agrochemicals such as pesticide residues, herbicides and veterinary chemicals
• toxins of microbial origin such as mycotoxins in peanuts and histamines in fish
• naturally occurring plant toxins such as glycoalkaloids in potatoes.
Illnesses associated with chemicals in food can be caused by eating a high dose of a chemical contaminant over a short period (i.e. an acute reaction) or by eating a low level of a chemical contaminant over a long period of time (i.e. a chronic reaction).
Physical hazards
Physical contaminants in foods are objects that, under normal circumstances, should not be present in f...
